JACKSON, MISS., Thursday, February 5, 2009---Mississippi’s Transportation commissioners halted a recent meeting to applaud an accomplishment that links a pair of state organizations.

The Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) was honored in December with the 2008 Keep America Beautiful U.S. State Departments of Transportation Award, which was formally presented during the Transportation Commission’s January 13 meeting in Jackson.

MDOT has worked hand-in-hand with Keep Mississippi Beautiful for more than a decade, and the groups have shared numerous state and national honors along the way.

“Our partnership with MDOT is unlike any other Keep America Beautiful affiliate in the nation,” said Barbara Dorr, executive director of Keep Mississippi Beautiful. “We are envied for the strong partnership and working relationship that we share. MDOT’s leadership is very supportive of our partnership.”

Among the programs that have been launched through the partnership are:

• the annual Trash Bash, a one-day event during which volunteers remove litter from our state’s highways.
• Education Programs, including the animated ‘Myrtle the Turtle,’ who reminds students in kindergarten through the 3^rd grade about the importance of keeping Mississippi clean and litter-free.
• the Inmate Litter Removal Program, which links MDOT with 95 participating sheriffs and mayors who provide inmate laborers to physically remove trash and debris from our roadways. Over the past year, more than 406,500 pounds of litter were removed from Mississippi’s roadsides through this program.
• the Great American Cleanup, which MDOT takes a lead role in administrating throughout Mississippi. The department distributes trash bags, informational packets, sample news releases and other tools to communities and groups which choose to participate.

“The Mississippi Department of Transportation is honored to receive this national recognition from Keep America Beautiful,” said MDOT Anti-Litter Coordinator Karen Philipp. “We believe our service to the community has resulted in the removal of millions of pounds of litter, and we look forward to continuing this partnership well into the future.”

“We are truly fortunate to work with organizations as generous as the Mississippi Department of Transportation,” said Keep America Beautiful President and CEO Matthew McKenna. “It is through their support that we can provide the necessary cleanup and beautification efforts essential to the great state of Mississippi.”

The 55^th Keep America Beautiful National Conference was held in December of 2008 in Washington, D.C. Keep Mississippi Beautiful and MDOT have worked together since the mid-1990s.

For a complete list of all Keep America Beautiful 2008 award winners from the 55^th national conference, as well as information about its awards program, please visit Keep America Beautiful’s web site at www.kab.org. Keep America Beautiful, Inc., established in 1953, is the nation’s largest volunteer-based community action and education organization. This national nonprofit forms public-private partnerships and programs that engage individuals to take greater responsibility for improving their community environments.

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